Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

A few days before the arrival of Rakia’s invasion, Vahn found himself in the Upper Floors of the Dungeon for the first time in a while. Vana had been pestering him a great deal about entering into the Dungeon and, already having several Skills and Development Abilities, while having the physical development of an a.d.u.l.t, Vahn hadn’t been able to continue refusing. He had promised her a long time ago that he would accompany her in the Dungeon to help her training so, now that the punitive force was resting in preparation for the upcoming battle, Vahn had a bit of free time with his second body. As a result, he ended up spending around two hours just helping Vana prepare her equipment before they finally proceeded into the first Floor of the Dungeon.

Currently, Vana had already grown to 162cm and had the appearance of a young woman around 15-16 years old. For better or worse, she had developed very similarly to her mother, with her b.r.e.a.s.ts already growing to a sizeable B-cup while her figure had already started to fill out like a mature young lady. Fortunately, she had always been more of a tomboy so, instead of wearing equipment that showed off a lot of skin, Vana’s armor actually covered most of her body, sans head. Even this wasn’t enough to hide her charm, however, causing several Adventurers to gawk at her when they were entering into the Dungeon...

Vana’s armor consisted of a padded pale-beige blouse that had slight frills at the hem, causing the garment to have the appearance of a skirt when she wore her black tunic over top. Her tunic was structured with a flared collar, as Vana thought it looked cool, while the surface was covered in paper-thin scales that Fafnir had produced. She also wore a pair of black form-fitting trousers, very similar to her mother but, fortunately, the blouse/tunic combination was able to prevent people from having a clear view of her backside. Completing the outfit, Vana had a pair of padded white greaves that continued past her knees while wearing a similarly white pair of boots and gloves.

To prevent her hair from getting in the way during combat, Vana wore a white hairband that forced her rather wild hair to fall behind her back, extending down to her waist. As for her weapon, Vana had always preferred using a sword and, after learning her daughter would be entering into the Dungeon, Hephaestus made her a white longsword with the properties of a growth weapon. It now hung at the left side of her h.i.p.s while a paired dagger was situated on her right. Though she had the option of using interspatial items, Vana thought it was cooler to have her weapons on display and, other than a pendant that Vahn had forged for her, she didn’t wear other ’girly’ accessories.

Now, after an admittedly excessive amount of fretting over her preparations, Vana was breezing through the first Floor without any difficulty whatsoever. Though she wasn’t able to have a Falna, Vana already had the strength of a Level 2 Adventurer so it wasn’t too surprising that Goblins and the occasional Kobold were unable to stand against her. She maintained a casual smile on her face without showing any major changes in expression as her blade drew practiced arcs through the air, cutting through enemies with exceptional ease. Vana didn’t even have to move around much, completely in control of the battle’s tempo without creating any openings that could be exploited by the rather unfortunate monsters that crossed her path.

When facing against a group of five Goblins, two of which had club-like natural weapons, Vana had essentially ’strolled’ forward to meet them, sidestepping a downward swing with minimal movement as her sword bisected the offending Goblin. In the same motion, Vana twisted her body, kicking the waist of a second Goblin and causing it to ’fold’ before it was flung into the Dungeon wall with enough force to shatter some of its bones. Then, with her back facing two of the Goblins, Vana simply jumped backward slightly to evade their attacks, swinging her sword out to the right to decapitate the third Goblin without even looking at it. Her spatial awareness had been polished by both sparing and practicing her flame control so that she wouldn’t accidentally set fire to her surroundings.

With three of the Goblins dead, after just a simple series of movements, Vana raised her palm toward the remaining two, the corners of her mouth raising slightly as a golden flame erupted from her hand, forming the shape of a snake that serpentined through the air. As if it was a living creature, the snake accurately pierced through the magic cores of the Goblins before drawing a circular arc through the air and returning to Vana, coiling around her forearm without even burning the fabric of her blouse and glove. Unlike Vahn, who still had a habit of burning his clothing and equipment, Vana already had a mastery of her [Genesis Flame] that he would be hard-pressed to emulate.

After inspecting the edge of her blade to make sure it wasn’t tarnished, Vana sheathed her sword before turning toward Vahn and smiling casually as she said, "Papa, I think we should descend a bit deeper in the Dungeon. I know I lack experience, but I’m confident in being able to fight against slightly stronger enemies than just Goblins and Kobolds~." Though it wasn’t her intent, Vana’s words had developed a ’teasing’ undertone to them as of late, as her previously rambunctious disposition had become more casual and calm with time. It was likely due to the fact that she spent a lot of time with the taciturn Rufina while also playing with the animals living in the illusory forest. She had a very ’natural’ calm and, if not for the fiery look that was everpresent in her eyes, Vana would come off as a very gentle young woman.

Understanding the Vana could probably reach the 18th Floor on her own, Vahn returned a casual smile before saying, "Sure, we still have a few hours before we need to head back. Though it isn’t wrong to push yourself, make sure you have a path of retreat for emergency situations. You are an incredibly talented young lady, Vana, but you should never allow your confidence to develop into hubris..." Though she had seemingly calmed down a great deal, Vahn knew that his daughter was still just a fiery as she had been in her ’youth’. If the battle got exciting, she was similar in disposition to Tiona, meaning she would cut loose and push herself to the limits if the battle was ’fun’. Since even he had a similar nature, especially after awakening [Rakshasa Body] in the past, Vahn just wanted her to avoid the same mistakes...

Vana’s response was to just smile even more radiantly than before, squinting her eyes slightly as she said, "As long as Papa is with me, I’m not afraid of anything~." After saying this, Vana giggled before turning around and heading deeper into the Dungeon. Vahn also released a dry laugh of his own before falling into step as, just as Vana implied, he would never allow her to face any ’real’ danger since she was barely two and half years old. He even had the Xeno monitoring their movements while he actively scanned the surroundings with his Domain, guiding Vana away from groups of Adventurers and areas of high monster density. Though he didn’t mind if she made friends, Vahn didn’t believe that any ’normal’ man would be able to interact with his rather beautiful daughters without having ’stray’ thoughts. Even if they knew how young Vana was, her appearance would still cause people to fantasize about her and, as much as possible, Vahn would prevent people from looking at any of his children with lascivious eyes and intentions...

As expected, Vana was able to continually progress through the Floors, finding no real challenges even after reaching the seventh Floor and facing a horde of Killer Ants. Upon seeing the large group of monsters known as ’novice killers’, Vana’s expression didn’t waver as she upturned her palm and began producing small cat-like creatures that jumped down, forming a small group of rather adorable kittens. Her [Genesis Flame] was exceptionally suited to making constructs that could even emulate reality and, with her love and knowledge of animals, and a fair amount of observing Shizune’s shadow summons, Vana had learned how to create her own ’flame summons’ long ago.

Without any great effort on Vana’s part, she kept producing more kittens as the previously formed constructs began assaulting the Killer Ants on her behalf. By the time the room had been cleared out, there were a total of twenty-seven golden flame kittens walking around the area, carrying the magic cores in their mouths as they scampered over and presented them to Vana. She happily accepted the cores, placing them into a small satchel attached to the back of her belt, before petting each kitten in turn. Vahn couldn’t help marveling at the sheer ’beauty’ of his daughter’s ability while an affectionate smile spread across his lips. He wondered what kind of future Vana would have and, when she finally did find a life partner, what kind of person he or she would be...

Other than a break for lunch, Vana had continued cutting a path through the Dungeon with startling ease. She had to put in a bit of effort when facing against Silverbacks and Minotaurs for the first time, as their Agility and Power were much greater than most monsters in the Upper Floors, but only during the first few encounters. Once she had gotten used to their movements, Vana had been able to cut down even Minotaurs with a ’casual’ swipe of her sword. Presently, her [Swordsman] had reached the B-Rank, so her adaptability with the blade and associated techniques was very high. For anything more challenging, Vana would use her [Genesis Flame] to defeat even Wyverns, who had high fire resistance, in an instant.

In her first day of venturing in the Dungeon, Vana had been able to clear all the way to the 18th Floor without any major hiccups. Upon reaching the rather beautiful region that some referred to as the ’Under Resort’, Vana’s fiery eyes glimmered with appreciation as she looked around at the vast expanse of forests, asking, "Are there any animals within the Dungeon, Papa~?" For Vana, having spent much of her free time within the illusory forest, all wooded areas equated to places where she could make new friends. She was a child loved by nature and, even amongst the various guardians belonging to his other children, Vana was good friends with each of them.

Since he knew there were indeed a few animals in the surrounding forests, Vahn nodded his head but explained, "The fauna within the Dungeon is extremely limited. Other than monsters, the most common creature would be various types of insects. As for animals, there are a few that had escaped from the small enclosures within the settlements that had bred in the surrounding forests. They are usually hunted by stray monsters, however, so the odds of encountering any normal animal is very slim." As he was speaking, Vahn guided Vana away from the stairs leading into the 18th Floor since there was a group of Adventurers making their way over, likely heading toward the surface.

Most Adventurers wouldn’t interfere with each other, especially within the Dungeon, so the group passed without sparing much attention for the duo that had made way for them. There was a young man who had let his eyes wander across Vana but, feeling an icy cold shudder run through his body, he quickly averted his eyes as an instinctual response. His companions, thinking he was getting cold feet, playfully badgered him a bit as the group ascended the stairs to hunt a few monsters before returning to Rivira. They were semi-permanant residents of the settlement on the 18th Floor, not a group returning to the surface as Vahn had expected.

Unaware of the constant vigilance of her Papa, Vana happily wandered into the forested area to see for herself if there were any animals she could befriend. To Vahn’s surprise, he could detect a few signs of life within his perception and, as if she had some kind of homing instinct, Vana had walked a direct route to where a fox den was located, occupied by a mother and three kits. Instead of staying hidden, or trying to defend her den, the mother fox poked her head out, curiously eyeing Vana and Vahn before exiting her den with the small kits following behind. Vana plopped down onto the ground and began playing with the small foxes as if they had known each other for years, all while Vahn observed with a thoughtful expression from the side...

As it had started to get late, with the crystals above beginning to dim, Vahn informed Vana that it was time to return to the surface after she had played with the family of foxes for a little over an hour. She didn’t argue at all, nodding her head as she gave the kits a few more caresses before hopping up to her feet and saying, "I’m ready to go home~." Though she had a lot of fun exploring the Dungeon, especially since she had the whole day to spend time with her Papa, Vana felt a little lonely being away from her ’friends’ in the illusory forest. After playing with the family of foxes, she couldn’t help wondering how her friends back home were doing while she was away. Thus, in order to return faster, Vana had her Papa give her a piggyback ride to the surface as she took a short nap and reminisced about the day...

[[Status]]

Name: Vana Mason

Title: Free-spirited Flame [Increases proficiency in creating constructs out of flames], Friend of Animals [All animals treat you as kin]

Race: Vanir

Age: C2, P16, M13

Level: 2(+)

POW: C601

END: B718

DEX: B702

AGI: C640

MAG: A823

SOUL: 3 [Lord Soul]

Divinity: Fire[pseudo:56%->58%], Life[pseudo:17%->18%], Animals[pseudo:2%](new)

Skills: [Inheritor of Flame:Innate:D->C], [Shepherd’s Grace:Innate:I->G], [Precise Thrust:E->B], [Featherfoot:F->D], [Flame Sword:B](new)

Magic: [Genesis Flame:Innate:I->E], [Sagitta Magicka:G->F], [Flame Lance:D->C], [Shundo:H](new)

Development Abilities: [Eternal Flame Spirit:Innate:F->E], [Swordsman:H->B], [Tamer:C](new), [Acrobatics:E](new)

[Flame Sword]

Rank: B

Use: Infuse weapon with burning attacks that can pierce the defense of a target.

(A/N: Vana uses the character Soleil as a template, so this is essentially what she looks like at the moment: https://imgur.com/gallery/DsVjTaN )

(A/N: Alternate Titles: ’Vahn’s Worries are only Beginning...’,’Worlds Strongest Two-Year-Old...’,’Do I spy a new Divinity!?)